DOCTORAL THESIS. Now there is additional evidence of the connection between the intake of antioxidant supplements and increased tumor growth. Experiments on animals and human cancer tissue confirm that addition of some antioxidants increases the growth of the severe malignant melanoma type of skin cancer. “This is not the way to treat cancer. In the best case the treatment makes no difference, but it can also exacerbate the disease,” says…
Gut microbiota products can favor diabetes
NEW STUDY. A study published in the journal Cell shows that the gut microbiota has the ability to affect how cells respond to insulin, and can thus contribute to type 2 diabetes. The findings demonstrate an hereto unknown pathological mechanism. During recent years, the gut microbiota has been associated with health and several disease conditions. However, only a few studies have investigated whether an altered gut microbiota can directly affect…
Mucus, cough and chronic lung disease: New discoveries
As a cold ends, a severe mucus cough starts. Sound familiar? Two studies now give explanations: First, crucial mechanisms of the mucus in both diseased and healthy airways; second, what happens in such chronic lung diseases as cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “This is new knowledge, but there are no instant cures to be found yet. But to make progress, it’s important to understand how the mucus…
Jonas Nilsson is new director of Sahlgrenska Cancer Center
LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENT. Since 2010 the Sahlgrenska Cancer Center has mobilized resources for cancer research in Gothenburg – an initiative that has paved the way for more research funding and the recruiting of top researchers. Jonas Nilsson has now succeeded Göran Stenman as director of the center. Nilsson heads a translational research collaboration on malignant melanoma, which focuses on a highly advanced animal model called PDX mice. He regards his appointment…
Gunnar C Hansson guest in Akademiliv the podcast (in Swedish)
RESEARCH. The podcast Akademiliv is back, and invited guest is Gunnar C Hansson, professor and world-leading researcher in mucin biology. In this podcast, we learn that the ‘C’ in his name stands for Claes, and he tells how his coworkers continue to investigate the thin and invisible mucus layer that protects our intestines from infection. Still, after thirty years of work in the field, we really know quite little about how the…
Seven researchers can purchase advanced equipment, thanks to grants from the Lundberg Foundation
GRANTS. IngaBritt and Arne Lundberg’s Research Foundation has chosen to provide a total of SEK 18 million to researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy to purchase new equipment. One of the researchers granted funding is Ulrika Islander, who is receiving SEK 3 million to buy a highly advanced confocal microscope. Ulrika Islander is a researcher at the Department of Rheumatology and Inflammation Research, who investigates immunological mechanisms involved in the protective…
New translation services
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT. New translation and proofreading services from Swedish to English are now in place. With this new framework agreement, you are free to chose from any supplier that has agreement in each area, but you must be able to explain your choice according to certain criteria. This framework agreement does not concern translations or proofreading of theses, papers or other scientific texts. If you need this service, you are…
Ann Wennerberg is the new assistant dean for internationalization and collaboration
LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENT. After almost 10 years in Malmö, Ann Wennerberg returned to Gothenburg some time ago. She has now been appointed as assistant dean for internationalization and collaboration. “I thought it sounded like an exciting job and something new for me to get involved in. I’m at the end of my career, and I’m pleased to work for the Academy and get a more general picture of issues that are…
Risk of blindness among premature babies with low levels of blood platelets
NEW STUDY. Premature babies with low levels of platelets (thrombocytes) in their blood run a greatly increased risk of being afflicted with a severe variation of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), an eye disease that can cause blindness, according to a study published in the journal JCI Insight. In experiments on mice, injections of blood platelets reduce the pathological development of retinal vessels. “I believe this paves the way for completely new…
CELAM receives SEK 15 million for a research program on evidence-based practice
GRANTS. The Centre for Ethics, Law and Mental Health (CELAM) at the University of Gothenburg is receiving SEK 15 million from the Forte research council for a research program to develop evidence-based practice in forensic psychiatry. This major research grant is considered an acknowledgment that the multidisciplinary approach of the center has turned out well. The Forte initiative provides opportunities for arranging national meetings and bringing together representatives of forensic…
SEK 36 million for Ruth Palmer’s research on neuroblastoma
GRANTS. The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation is now investing SEK 36.7 million in research on neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer, that is headed by Professor Ruth Palmer at the University of Gothenburg. The large grant gives researchers access to new top-class analytical methods. The project is a collaboration among three research teams at Sahlgrenska Academy, the University of Gothenburg, and an equal number of teams at Karolinska Institutet.…
New attention to women with painful vertebral compression fractures
DOCTORAL THESIS. Older women who suffer vertebral fractures rarely attract the attention of health care providers. A dissertation at Sahlgrenska Academy throws new light on a group of individuals with chronic pain as a constant companion. “We must become more aware of these women and take their experiences of pain seriously,” says Hilda Svensson, district nurse and PhD at the Institute of Health and Care Sciences at Sahlgrenska Academy and…
Eric Hanse: Two new councils working on the future of Medicinareberget
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. Two new councils have begun work on the future development of Medicinareberget. One is the Campus Council, which is working on the issues that are in common with the Faculty of Science, and the other is the Council for Premises, which prepares Sahlgrenska Academy’s questions for the Faculty Board. One question that the Council for Premises has begun to discuss is a review of the current model for…
High blood serotonin levels predicts increased risk of hip fracture
NEW STUDY. For the first time, researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy are now demonstrating a clear connection between serotonin in the blood and the risk of fractures. Almost one thousand men are included in the study, in which those with high blood serotonin levels had hip fractures more than twice as often. The hormone serotonin is often described as a neurotransmitter. Its most famous function is as a neurotransmitter in the…
New students gathered again for an interprofessional day on human rights
STUDENT. Early this week, Sahlgrenska Academy’s interprofessional day on human rights and the right to health was held for all students who are now beginning their first semester in one of our programs. The day was useful and relevant, according to the students with whom Akademiliv spoke. Human rights and the right to health are the important and relevant subjects which the faculty has chosen to highlight with this theme…
New study room for all students in Studentköket at Hälsovetarbacken
STUDENTS. The study and social environment for students at Medicinareberget needs improving. Everyone agrees with this. And now the Faculty is focusing on achieving this. As a first step, Studentköket (the student kitchen) at Hälsovetarbacken has been renovated, with noise-reducing sofa groups where students can work in peace. Studentköket at Hälsovetarbacken is located just before the Annedal cafe on the second floor. It’s a large area which was previously used…
Ernst Nyström lost his words – but not his positive outlook on life
COLLABORATION. During his time as a professor at the University, he was one of the most enthusiastic disseminators of knowledge. Ernst Nyström was passionate about what is called the third stream activities. But shortly after his retirement, he suffered a massive stroke. Gone are the quick responses, but not his inexhaustible good humor. The brain is truly a mysterious organ. The major brain hemorrhaging that afflicted Ernst just over eight…
Reduced risk of severe stroke for individuals who walk regularly
NEW STUDY. Physical activity not only reduces the risk of stroke. Individuals who walk at least 30 minutes a day also have a lower risk of severe stroke, according to a new study in Neurology. “It is remarkable that even light physical activity can have such a clear link to stroke outcomes,” says Katharina Stibrant Sunnerhagen, professor of rehabilitation medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. The study shows no…
Population studies leading to new treatments for asthma and allergies
YOUNG RESEARCHERS. At the population level, he sees the connection between sex hormones and other risk factors for asthma and allergies. By understanding the mechanisms at the cellular level behind his statistical findings, he hopes to find new treatments. Bright Nwaru has been recruited as an epidemiologist to the Krefting Research Centre within the framework of the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine (WCMTM). I meet Bright in his…
Isabella Björkman-Burtscher: “Radiology is diagnostic detective work”
NEW PROFESSOR. As a new professor of neuroradiology, Isabella Björkman-Burtscher is now looking forward to further developing neuroradiology at our faculty. She maintains that the importance of radiology has increased and that it is in the midst of an exciting technological development, for example regarding the use of artificial intelligence. She joins us from Lund, where she had a combined position as a neuroradiologist and senior lecturer. At Skåne University…